Link hinges



United States Patent 3,209,390 LINK HINGES Eraclio Bassan, 135 Via Trieste, Rovigo, Italy Fiied July 5, 1963, Ser. No. 293,047 Claims priority, application Italy, Jan. 12, 1961, Patent 642,956; Nov. 13, 1961, 20,898/61 8 Claims. (Cl. 16-164) This application is a continuation-in-part of application Serial No. 166,450, filed January 9, 1962.

This invention relates to link hinges, for pieces of furniture, doors and windows, and aims to provide a hinge of the kind comprising a pair of hollow, substantially tubular members adapted to be encased in holes formed in two parts to be hinged together, whereby said tubular members are interconnected in a known manner by link means permitting the hinged parts to swing from a position in which the said tubular members are co-axial and the hinge links are enclosed and concealed inside the said tubular members, to a position in which the said tubular means are rotated by 180, and are arranged sidewise and parallel to each other.

It is the main object of the present invention to provide a link hinge, of the kind referred to, provided with improved means for firmly clamping said hinge members within the holes bored in the part to be hinged together, the said clamping means being wholly concealed inside said holes.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a link hinge of the kind referred to, which may be easily mounted onto and dismounted from the parts to be hinged together by use of a conventional screw driver, and without the need of other special tools.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, which is shown by way of non-limiting example in the attached drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of a link hinge according to the invention, in closed position i.e. in the position in which the two hinge members come to be aligned;

FIGURE 2 is a similar side view taken at right angles to FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an axial section through the link hinge shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, in closed position, said section being taken at right angles to the hinge pins;

FIGURE 4 is an axial section through the same link hinge, in fully open position, i.e. the position with the hinge members in parallel relation;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of one of the like hinge member according to the invention, and

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged section on line VIVI of FIGURE 5, showing in detail the hinge clamping means.

The link hinge according to the invention is of the kind comprising a pair of like, preferably cylindrical shells 1 and 101 having a roughened outer surface obtained preferably by forming longitudinal and circumferential riflings, as clearly shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. Said shells 1 and 101 are tubular and provided with a preferably rectangular through bore 2.

Each shell 1 and is provided with a pair of short slits 3, at its outer or linked end, and with an internal groove 4 at its opposite or inner end, the terms outer" and inner being adopted with reference to the bore holes of the parts to be hinged, in which said shells are encased.

The shells are connected together, in a known manner, by means of a pair of bell crank-like levers 5 hinged together intermediate their ends, at 6 and each hinged at one of its end, or head end at 7 in the outer slit 3 of each shell 1 and 101, while the opposite or tail end of said levers is provided with projecting pins or rollers 8, which "ice are slidably guided in the internal grooves 4 of said shells 1 and 101.

According to the invention, as shown in FIGURES 1, 2, 5 and 6 each shell 1 and 101 is further provided on one side with a slit 9 extending along a chord of the shell, substantially parallel to one of the sides of the rectangular bore 2 of the shell, and near the outer shell surface, from the outer shell end for a substantial length, so as to form an elastic tongue 10.

A hole 11, FIGURE 6, is bored from the outer end of said shell along the plane of slit 9, preferably in the middle section thereof. Said hole 11 extends up to near the whole slit 9, and is tapped in its upper half in which a screw 12, provided with a cylindrical extension ending with a conical tip, is screwed. In practice the hole 11 is bored and topped in the un-slitted shell and then the slit 9 is out along a chord passing through the bore axis.

A hinge thus formed is mounted in the parts to be hinged together as follows:

At a suitable location, a hole is bored on the parts to be hinged together, said hole having a diameter corresponding to the outer diameter of the shells 1 and 101 and a length substantially equal to the shell length, and the shells are inserted into said bores, until their outer ends come to be flush with the outer ends of the bores.

Thereafter a screw 12 having a conical tip is screwed into the hole 11 until said conical tip by engaging the conical end of hole 11 causes the tongue 10 to spread out thus firmly clamping the hinge in the bore in which it was inserted.

It is evident that, due to the fact that the expansion of tongue 10 is mostly confined at its innermost end, a sure grip action will be provided for by the described clamping means, which action is further enhanced by the presence of the rifiings of the outer shell surface.

It is further evident that the hinges provided with the described clamping means may be easily dismantled by simply unscrewing screw 12.

Further advantage of a link hinge provided with the improved clamping means according to the invention is that the use of conventional fastening flangs wings, or plates is avoided, as is avoided the slotting of the parts to which the hinges are to be fastened. At the same time the improved hinges according to the invention, due to their improved fastening means, may be first easily exactly angularly adjusted in their assembling or encasing bore, and then clamped in the adjusted position by simply screwing screw 12.

The improved hinge provided with the clamping means according to the invention is adapted to be fastened also both in soft materials, used as insulating panels in doors, and in very hard materials, in which it may be difiicult to drive a screw.

Having thus particularly described my invention, and the advantages deriving from its use, what I claim as my invention is:

1. In a link hinge of the type including a pair of hollow, substantially tubular shells hingedly interconnected at one end of each shell by link means normally housed inside said tubular shells, the improvements comprising at least one longitudinal tongue formed integrally in each of said shells, said tongues being attached at one end to their respective shells and being deformable to move freely laterally away from the shells at their outer ends, there being a longitudinally extending opening in the wall of each shell, and screw means threaded in said openings to engage and deflect the free ends of said tongues outwardly away from said shells.

2. In a link hinge, the improvements according to claim 1 wherein the said tongues are separated from walls of said shells by longitudinal slits in said shells.

3. In a link hinge, the improvements according to claim 1, wherein the said longitudinal opening in each shell extends from said one hinged end of the shell toward the other end and is tapped partially along its length starting at the entrance of the opening, the untapped portions of said openings emerging adjacent to and being continued by the free ends of said tongues.

4. In a link hinge, the improvements according to claim 3 wherein each of said tongues comprises and end portion of the wall of its associated shell separated by a slit falling in a chordal plane of the shell which passes substan tially along the longitudinal axis of said longitudinal opening.

5. In a link hinge, the improvements according to claim 4 in which each said partially tapped opening extends from one end of its associated shell toward and along substantial parts of an associated slit, the diameter of each said opening being greater than the thickness of associated slit.

6. In a link hinge, the improvements according to claim 5 wherein said screw means comprises a pair of screws each provided with a cylindrical extension ending in a conical tip, and each of said partially tapped openings having a conical inner end.

7. A hollow hinge member for both enclosing hinge link elements and self fastening to a part to be hinged, comprising a tubular shell, there being a partially tapped opening extending longitudinally in the wall of said shell from one end toward the other end of the shell and for part of the wall length, there being a slit formed in a chordal plane of the shell which includes the longitudinal axis of said opening, said slit starting from the said other end of the shell and continuing along part of said opening so as to provide a longitudinal tongue integral with the shell, and said opening being adapted to threadedly receive a screw for co-acting with said tongue so as to outwardly deflect the tongue.

8. A hinge member according to claim 7, in which the outer surface of said tubular shell is roughened by knurllike ridges and grooves.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,484,093 2/24 5085 l6l64 1,718,171 6/29 Mills -2 2,727,276 12/55 Nelson 852 2,992,025 7/61 Bloomquist et al. 287-52.06 3,071,398 1/63 Henning 287-5206 JOSEPH D. SEERS, Primary Examiner.

M. HENSON WOOD, 111., DONLEY I. STOCKING,

Examiners. 

7. A HOLLOW HINGE MEMBER FOR BOTH ENCLOSING HINGE LINK ELEMENTS AND SELF FASTENING TO A PART TO BE HINGED, COMPRISING A TUBULAR SHELL, THERE BEING A PARTIALLY TAPPED OPENING EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY IN THE WALL OF SAID SHELL FROM ONE END TOWARD THE OTHER END OF THE SHELL AND FOR PART OF THE WALL LENGTH, THERE BEING A SLIT FORMED IN A CHORDAL PLANE OF THE SHELL WHICH INCLUDES THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID OPENING, SAID SLIT STARTING FROMTHE SAID OTHER END OF THE SHELL AND CONTINUING ALONG PART OF SAID OPENING SO AS TO PROVIDE A LONGITUDINAL TONGUE INTEGRAL WITH THE SHELL, AND SAID OPENING BEING ADAPTED TO THREADEDLY RECEIVE A SCREW FOR CO-ACTING WITH SAID TONGUE SO AS TO OUTWARDLY DEFLECT THE TONGUE. 